Into the Woods
by domani guardian
Summary: "Careful before you say listen to me. Children will listen." Fed up, SPR is stranded in the woods on their way to a case. They split up, only to realize they are not alone out there.
1. Into the Woods

**A/N: Hello there, Ghost Hunt fandom! I am back with a brand new story, based on the fabulous musical, "Into the Woods." But don't worry, it's very, very loosely based on it. If you don't know my writing, maybe you should check out my other Ghost Hunt one-shots and chaptered story "No Petals Fall." I do hope you enjoy this new one just as much!**

* * *

><p><em>Into the woods,<br>__It's time, and so  
><em>_I must begin my journey_

* * *

><p>"You're driving the wrong way!"<p>

"Shut up, Mai. You wouldn't know."

"Would too! I wrote the directions to this place because you told me to this morning. Lin missed the turn back there." A small thumb nearly jabbed John's eye out.

"There was never a turn, Mai."

"Rrgh! Yes, there was! Lin-san, turn around! Naru's directional skills are gonna get us stranded out here!" Mai demanded.

A pair of brown eyes shaded by sandy hair opened. "Excuse me, bickering couple, but would you mind keeping it down? I was up all last night and then I get this urgent message—"

"I don't need your sob story, Takigawa-san. I will apologize for Mai's childish behavior."

Chestnut hair whipped the tired face once more. Takigawa groaned and attempted to roll away. "_My_ childish behavior? Naru, I don't think you spent enough time in front of your mirror this morning."

There were several snorts of laughter and one kimono sleeve clasped to the face. Naru turned to glare. The car was silent.

It had started out a normal morning at SPR. Everyone was naturally quite tired for an early Monday morning case, but a case was a case, as Naru seemed to enjoy repeating. They weren't all about to lose each other again – not after Naru had just returned from England. This was a true miracle, and they couldn't let that go to waste.

Although, sometimes, they had a hard time showing that.

The case was out at some old mansion far, far out in the country. They were only making the effort to go out there because the pay was guaranteed to be excellent (and would pay Mai's rent alone for the next three months).

"Why… why didn't we take two cars like usual?" John asked when there was a break in the yelling. His gentle words didn't do anything for the atmosphere.

Ayako managed to raise her voice first. "Because _my_ car is totaled because the stupid monk thought it would be a genius idea to drive my borrowed car while under the influence after one of his concerts, and—!"

Takigawa bolted forward, his seatbelt catching him before he flung himself into the next row of seats. "Hey, who was the one who came racing to the hospital at three in the morning? You didn't seem so angry then!"

"That's because they made it seem like you were dead! Of course I wasn't angry! But all you had was a sprained wrist and grinned at me with that drunken grin and—!" Ayako harrumphed and crossed her arms, glaring out the window.

"So you cared about me." Takigawa hunched himself sideways with a wolfish grin, an arm slung over Ayako's seat.

"No, I didn't. And I don't," she corrected a little too hastily. "I care about the car you totaled!"

Takigawa was surely awake now. He opened his mouth to figure out another retort that would no doubt escalate the ferocity of the conversation.

"Would the two of you stop your mindless chatter? We are trying to find the place as quickly as we can, and your grating voices are not helping," Naru snapped.

Mai pursed her lips. "Oh, don't bother them, Naru. It's your own fault we're lost."

The van made a horrible sound like a lion's dying roar, grinding to a slow, painful stop on the side of the road.

"Great. Now look what you've done!" Ayako muttered, smacking Takigawa's injured arm. He flinched away, cradling his wrist. His expression took on that of a wounded puppy's.

"Me? What do I do, just jinx cars or something?"

"Yes," Ayako bristled. "If you hadn't crashed my car, we would have at least had a way out of here."

"Yes, the seven of us could fit into your tiny clown car, along with our equipment," Takigawa shot back.

"Ayako, it's not Bou-san's fault," Mai said, choosing her side. "If Naru had just trusted the directions I wrote out, this wouldn't be a problem. We would have been there by now!"

"Oh, stop it, Mai, no one can read your chicken scratch," Naru put in.

"My handwriting is far easier to read than yours!"

"That is because _you do not read English._"

"Somebody certainly is snippy this morning," Masako muttered, getting her word in edgewise. Both Naru and Mai turned to glare at the medium. She simply blinked her wide violet eyes at them and turned away again as if she'd said nothing at all.

"You see, Naru? Somebody else recognizes that you are being a complete jerk," Mai said with a triumphant grin.

"Of course," Naru drawled. "Because Hara-san consistently takes your side with great pleasure."

"Of course she does! Don't you, Masako?"

"I said whatever you heard, Mai," the girl replied. Mai didn't catch the snide tone – or simply chose to ignore it.

"See? She took my side!"

"Dear Lord, Mai, have you truly learned nothing? Why on Earth would Hara-san defend your juvenile conduct?" Naru's piercing gaze tore at Mai's confidence. Mai opened her mouth to shoot back a response, but the logic of it all caught her tongue. The logic allowed room for an excess of arrogance to fold across Naru's face.

"Well… as if she'd defend your behavior!" Mai finally said.

"She has never defended you before. It is beyond me why she would start now." The words were quicksilver out of his mouth.

"All right, let's get something straight," Ayako interrupted, snapping her taloned fingers in their faces. "Mai, as much as I love you, you're being a persnickety little nag. Naru, as much as I… well, as much as I want to keep my job here, you are being even more of an arrogant prick than usual. Now will the both of you shut _up_ before I am required to do it for you?"

Ayako fell back in her seat with a muted thump. She crossed her arms and jerked her gaze out the window.

"Oh, leave 'em alone, you old coot," Takigawa broke the short silence. "You haven't got any business telling them what to do. Naru's only peeved because Mai got asked out again."

"Thank you, Bou-san," Mai sniffed, crossing her arms in a similar fashion to the priestess, happy with her chosen side.

"That is no business of yours, Takigawa-san, but a matter between myself and my girlfriend," Naru ground out.

"Oh, please," Mai shot at Naru, sending him a bitter glare. "It's not even a matter of yours. And… wait, Bou-san, how did you even hear about that anyway?" Mai asked, the notion hitting her suddenly.

"From both your possessive ass of a boyfriend and Yasuhara. But the two tales had polar opposite tones," Takigawa said with a shrug.

Mai sighed and turned back to her "possessive" boyfriend. "Naru, you're being a hypocrite. You can't tell Bou-san something and then tell him to mind his own business. "

"I can if I employ him."

"These are _personal_ matters. You shouldn't have even told him in the first place!" Mai complained, pounding a fist on the back of Naru's seat.

"Then why did you tell Yasuhara before you told me?"

This question drew silence over the whole van. Naru waited, his harsh expectancy killing the atmosphere, if there had even been an atmosphere to kill in the first place. Mai tried to overcome her shock with another response that could be called passing.

"Stop being such a bully, Naru. What matters is that she said no to the kid," Takigawa interjected.

"Would you stop getting involved?" Ayako snapped. "Mai should have told Naru first, because they're dating!"

"Well, they won't be for much longer if Naru keeps treating her like this," Takigawa finished.

"Or if Mai keeps secrets from him all the time," Ayako countered.

"Stop it, both of you!" Mai yelped, near tears. His fists shook at her sides. "You don't need to say another word."

"Have you anything to say to me?" Naru quipped. She turned her ire upon him, but Naru didn't flinch.

"I haven't a thing to say to you, either. I don't wish to speak to you at all, as a matter of fact," Mai muttered, mimicking his proper tone. Naru looked like she'd slapped him across the face – which she had not wholly ruled out – but he promptly turned around with not another word.

"I do believe cutting off conversation is the worst thing to do in a… strained relationship," Masako said.

All hell broke loose again at the dainty medium's fire-lit words. John tried to raise his voice over the racket, but it was no use.

Only one thing did the trick.

Wordless Lin finally had enough.

"Enough!" Lin roared, yanking the key out of the ignition. "Everybody out!"

Mai yanked on the handle and kicked the door open, hopping out into the fresh air. They all jumped from the car, the angry couples glaring at each other before turning their backs on each other. Mai wandered over next to Takigawa, while Masako and John stayed relatively chose together. Ayako stalked off on her own, and Naru and Lin went to check out the engine.

"Are you feeling okay, Bou-san?" Mai whispered, managing to keep the storm of emotions from destroying her voice. "I didn't know you got in a car accident last night…"

"I'm doin' all right, jou-chan, don't you worry about me," he said, ruffling her hair with his uninjured hand. "If there's anyone to worry about, it's you. How do you put up with that horrible prat?" Takigawa jerked his chin toward the front of the car.

Mai waved his concern off. "Oh, he'll get over himself. It's not like he hasn't done something like this before. It's not a big deal. But you… you really could have gotten hurt last night." Her big brown eyes pleaded with him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just didn't want you to worry, that's all," he said, turning skittish under her

"And this… this isn't the first time it's happened, too."

"Hey, you promised you'd keep that a secret," he scolded, his voice softer. Takigawa didn't match her gaze.

"I'm not telling anyone else, am I?" Mai replied. "You can't keep scaring us like that. You're lucky that this is the first time you got into an accident when you were drunk. And you were even luckier that you only sprained your wrist!"

"Mai-chan, please keep your voice down."

"I will not!" Mai yelped, causing all eyes to fall on her. "I'm worried about you! Why can't you just learn from your mistakes?"

Takigawa took a step back, a coldness falling into place between the two of them. Mai still felt eyes on her back, watching and waiting to see what would happen.

"Do you really want to sound like Ayako right now, Mai-chan? Because that's what's happening," he said, voice blunt. Mai stomped on the ground and stormed away.

She made her way around the car and fell against it. Mai tilted her head up to watch the light blue sky, the one peaceful constant of her morning. They were just approaching the forest, and the women had clearly said, in her sharp snobbish tone, that if they hit the forest, they'd gone too far.

Well, here they were, and Naru still didn't believe a single word she said. Mai bit down hard on her cheek and stared out at the trees. Sharp flashes of green and white danced across her vision. Mai blinked and the lights went away. A chill ran up her spine on this warm day.

Mai quickly averted her attention somewhere else. Everyone was standing on their own in silence, other than a peeved Naru and Lin forcing himself to be patient. She couldn't pick out quite what Lin was murmuring about the engine, but it certainly wasn't good – that much she could tell.

This had been a bad idea from the beginning.

Mai suddenly regretted ignoring the horrible premonition in the pit of her stomach that morning.

But, of course, if she told Naru about that now, all she would get was more yelling.

The green and white lights danced before her as she glanced back at the forest.

* * *

><p><em>Into the woods,<br>__And who can tell  
><em>_What's waiting on the journey?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please review and tell me what you thought!**


	2. I Guess This Is Goodbye

**A/N: All right, new chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first one :) This fandom's been with me since I finished middle school, and now I'm going into college – and it's always been a supportive one. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Read on!**

* * *

><p><em>I guess this is goodbye, old pal,<br>You've been a perfect friend_

* * *

><p>"We're stranded out here." Takigawa's boisterous voice rang out over the car. Mai rolled her eyes.<p>

"No shit, Sherlock," Ayako spoke the words on everyone's mind. Lin revved the van once more, only to deafen them all with a painful, drawn-out growl. Mai pulled her fingers from her ears and peeked around the corner.

Naru had his back facing her, his arms crossed. John looked about as lost as a puppy on a city street corner, and Ayako and Masako competed for who could look the most cross.

"We should try to fix the car as soon as possible. The client is waiting, after all," John said.

"And how are we to do that without any knowledge of repairing a dead engine?" Ayako bit back. John bowed his head, blue eyes flickering with hurt. Masako stepped in front of John and reengaged Ayako in their cross contest. The medium sniffed and the priestess rolled her eyes, only increasing the tension in the atmosphere.

"Who says we have no knowledge of fixing a dead engine?" Takigawa said, bursting forward. "We have four strapping young men here who are completely capable of fixing a car! And we have three… well, just the three of you women."

"Hey! I take insult to that!" Mai stepped out of her hiding spot and glared at the overzealous monk.

"It's true," Takigawa replied. The bitterness burned bright in his eyes, still reeling from their spat.

"Need I remind you, Takigawa, that your injured arm renders you useless as well." Whatever part of Mai's heart that was not yet against Naru's aggravating behavior this morning went out to him. She turned to beam at Naru and scowl at Takigawa.

"Just as useless as the women."

She snatched that solitary piece of her heart back.

"Hey!" Ayako retorted. "Excuse me, Naru, while these two girls couldn't put their decorated lunchboxes together" – Mai and Masako cried foul, but Ayako spoke out over them – "I however, am capable of handling tools."

"Are you?" Naru mused. "I was under the impression you could only maneuver your way into Bou-san's apartment in the dark."

Takigawa flushed red and Ayako snarled. She stamped forward on four-inch heels that Mai could just picture her puncturing Naru's chest with.

"Well, I could shove a wrench up your—"

"Did anyone else see that?" Masako gasped, staring out at the expanse of forest on the other side of the road.

"See _what_?" Ayako twirled to glare at Masako ruining her moment of pure, glorious hatred and possible revenge toward her boss who never seemed to know when to shut his snarky mouth.

"The forest… something lit up in there. I saw a huge flash of white light. Didn't anyone else see it?" Masako asked to her silent but fuming audience. Mai was hesitant to speak up, to vouch for Masako. Ayako was the first to recover her voice.

"Oh, stop pretending to see things. It was just lightning."

"Lightning but no thunder?" Mai countered before she realized she was coming to the rescue. Ayako swiveled around.

"Oh, you too, Mai? You're going to stoop to her level?" One perfect eyebrow rose.

"What is wrong with you today, Ayako?" Mai questioned, fists clenched. Her voice squeaked in the middle of her sentence. "Why are you being so cruel?"

"Today? How about every day?" Takigawa snorted. Ayako almost turned her fury on him again, but Mai's words caught her up short. At once she tried to make up for her behavior.

"Whatever it is, it's far away. Obviously nothing to worry about." Ayako pulled her hands through her long red hair and tossed it over her shoulders in an apparent display of glamor. The sun gleamed off her hair, and her obvious beauty radiated, but no siren's song was strong enough to distract from the anger and tension.

"Well, I want to see what it was," Masako declared.

"So do I!" Mai piped up.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't accompany me." Masako pursed her lips and stared at her brunette counterpart.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't tell me what to do," Mai mimicked her tone.

Mai locked her brown eyes with Masako's violet. The team stood there in silence, watching the two girls face off, before both huffed and turned away, headed toward the dense forest. Mai looked both ways before scampering across the obviously deserted street. Masako, on the other hand, glided across without even looking, nose raised in the air.

The girls went in two separate directions and disappeared.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Takigawa shot at Naru.

"Why would I do that?" Naru replied, glancing into the dead car, rather than looking remotely concerned about the fact that Mai had just deserted them for a glittery forest.

"Because you have an incredibly accident-prone girlfriend that I'm pretty damn sure you don't want to lose in a forest in the middle of nowhere."

"I have no need to retrieve Mai only to hear her nag me incessantly," Naru said, indifferent. "She'll return on her own."

"You really are a pretentious jackass." Takigawa jabbed his young boss in the chest with one finger.

"You're very original," Naru drawled, pushing Takigawa's hand away. Takigawa's lip curled into a scowl.

"Mai should have said yes to that guy. He woulda treated her better than you ever have."

Naru's jaw clenched, but he didn't react. He knew better than to react. Takigawa breathed in triumph.

"I'll go after them," Ayako blurted. Takigawa and John both jerked their attention back to her.

"Are you actually feeling some remorse, you old hag?" Takigawa said. Fire burned in Ayako's eyes, and instinctively, Takigawa stepped away.

"God, no. But finding the two of them is far more promising than being here with the likes of you."

Her heels clicked all the way across the street. They saw her hair flick left before she disappeared into the brush.

"Welp, John, we've managed to make three very angry women disappear into a forest, all within twenty minutes. I'd say that's a job well done." Takigawa clapped John on the back, making John stumble forward.

"You're going to go after them, aren't you?" John predicted without a second to lose. Those blue eyes just seemed to know everything.

"Yes, of course I'm going to go after them," Takigawa rushed his words, suddenly frantic. He pulled up with his palms on his hairline, drawing his whole face taut. "I'm not Naru. Are you coming with me? We can probably find them faster if we split up."

"Sure. I'd really hate to see them get lost out there." John tossed his head back to Naru and Lin. "But how are we going to get out of here? Shibuya-san might need our help."

"Easy." Takigawa winked. He turned back to the silent pair.

"Hey, Naru—" Takigawa did a little jig, hopping from foot to foot like a five-year-old boy "—nature's calling."

Naru rolled his eyes and turned away, waving a hand. Takigawa took that as a cue to leave, racing across the street.

"And I'm, ah, going to look for water," John said, voice soft. Naru's gaze flicked toward him and then flicked away.

As if right on cue, the engine coughed smoke and sputtered.

"…it looks like we're going to be here for a while anyway."

John followed Takigawa across the street.

"They can't possibly think I believed that," Naru muttered.

Lin hunched over the engine of the car, peering through wires and gears to figure out what exactly went wrong. It looked like he was having no such luck.

"I believe all they care about is the fact that you let them go," Lin replied, not bothering to look up. To Naru, fixing the engine was about as foreign as intimate matters between Mai and himself. Naru was just as useless as he described the women to be. In any case, Naru stood there just so he could feel like he was doing something while Lin did all the dirty work.

"Then it's a win-win situation. I get to be rid of them, and they get to go find the women."

"All right," Lin huffed, pulling his head out from under the hood. "I know you're a brilliant scientist, but you're dense when it comes to things like this. So let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain."

Lin continued like Naru hadn't said a thing. "Mai took the chance to go into that forest because she was angry at you—"

"Technically she was angry at everyone—"

"—and now Takigawa is going after her. Didn't he just say to you that Mai should have chosen the boy who asked her out?"

"Yes. But we all know she didn't."

Lin restrained himself from rolling his eyes. "So if Takigawa finds Mai, he will most likely convince her to break ties with you and pursue someone who actually has her best wishes in mind."

Naru stared.

"Someone who cares enough about her to not leave her for dead in the forest." Lin crushed the greasy washcloth in one fist.

"He's going to change her mind."

"What do I care?"

Lin threw the cloth on the ground and stared his young boss in the eye.

"I know that you do."

"Oh, please."

Lin sighed. "Don't be a prat, Naru."

Naru scowled, uncrossed his arms, and marched away toward the forest. On the other side of the street, Naru swiveled around again to call out, "There are times when I wish that we hadn't come back from England."

He disappeared into the forest before Lin could figure a solid reply.

* * *

><p><em>Wishes may bring problems<br>Such that you regret them  
>Better that though<br>Than to never get them_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please review and tell me what you thought!**


	3. Stay with Me

_No one can prepare you for the world_

* * *

><p>It was as if all of the luck that had escaped Naru his whole life rushed back to greet him for the first five minutes in the forest.<p>

He found Mai.

He actually ran right into her, and after a collision, found himself blinking the stars from his eyes. Mai groaned, pressing her palm against her temple. She opened her eyes and began to apologize.

"I'm so—oh, wait. It's just you," she deadpanned. Mai pushed herself off the ground, dusted herself off, and pivoted on her heel.

"Mai," Naru said, making her stop short.

"Yes?" she replied without turning around. Naru stood, trying to piece the words together in his head.

"You should stay. With me. Here."

"Oh, I should, should I?" Mai mocked his voice with frightening accuracy. "What makes you think I want to do that?"

"Because you're you."

Mai turned around and stared up at him. Once she determined that he hadn't meant that as at least a direct insult, she let her guard drop a bit.

"Well, let's not just stand here. Come on, sit down, next to me." Mai grabbed his hand and pulled them down against a tree. Mai nearly rested her head against his arm, but remembered how angry she was. Naru's heart tugged downward as she pulled away.

"So… is everyone else just waiting around until Lin gets the car started again?" Mai asked. Her eyes darted around the trees and up to the morning sky.

"Ah, no, actually. Everyone followed you into the forest. One by one, but… they're all in here somewhere." Naru glanced at Mai and followed her flitting gaze. "I was actually surprised when I ran into you first. You went off first, so you should have been the farthest away… not to mention I thought you would have tried to get away from the lot of us as fast as you could."

Mai rolled her eyes, but she still didn't look at him. She was watching, waiting for something in the trees. For once, Naru didn't like her silence. Not when he was talking right at her, trying to illicit some sort of response other than derision.

"So how exactly were you the first one I found?" Naru finally asked her. Mai sat up straight, as if snapped from a dream.

"Well… to be honest I think I've been going in circles for a while. These trees all look the same."

Naru covered up the hint of a smile on his face by looking the other way. "Trees do tend to look very similar."

Mai smacked him on the arm, but he was grateful for the response.

"_Have_ yourun into anyone else?" Naru continued.

"No," Mai replied, sitting back. She admitted defeat against her search and flicked her attention to Naru. "Why? Are you _actually_ concerned about them?" Her sarcasm was deep, especially for her. "Because I would love to bear witness to the day that the great Oliver Davis actually cared about someone other than himself—"

"No." He cut her off with a snarl. Her disapproving look made him rethink his words – unfortunately in the wrong direction. "Lin seemed to be under the impression that if Takigawa found you, he would convince you to break up with me."

Mai pursed her lips. "Who says I need Takigawa to convince me of that? You were the one acting all possessive."

"I am your boyfriend."

"But I am _not_ your possession," Mai shot back. "A girlfriend and a possession are two very different things, and you would do well to remember those differences."

"I know the differences," Naru ground out. The bark scratched at the back of his neck, dew dripping down his collar. Mai waited.

"Really? Well, then, do explain," she challenged. "How to treat a girlfriend and how to treat a possession. By Dr. Oliver Davis."

Rubbing his credentials in his face bolstered her drive. Naru clenched his jaw and looked the other way. Mai slouched beside him, biting down on her chapped lip.

"Look, I'll put it this way. Naru, do you ever see or hear me complain about all of the women who practically throw themselves at your feet when they see you? Nearly every young woman under the age of thirty who comes to request our services attempts to flirt with you – and don't think you can get away with saying 'I don't believe I've ever noticed that' in your scientific voice, because we both know that's bullshit – and I don't say one word."

He stopped. Mai searched his face for the silent response. She saw it and proceeded to tell him what, exactly, she saw.

"The answer is no, because I know that, even though you are quite the thick-headed idiot, I know you're not _that_ thick-headed. You have a moral code. I trust you, so I don't say one word about it."

"You just have."

His brain was working in the wrong direction today. He quickly tried to rearrange his response in his mind, a more calm, calculated, thoughtful response, but Mai got her words out first.

Mai gave an aggravated groan. "You know what I mean! Stop acting like a child!"

Naru snapped his jaw shut before something else uneducated came out of his mouth again. Mai glanced down at her knees. Her eyebrows drew together and she breathed in a long, steady breath.

"You really don't trust me, Naru?" Mai said, but her voice came out as more of a squeak. Naru jerked his head up to attention. "Because that's what it seems like to me. That you don't trust me enough to be faithful."

"Of course I trust you." Finally something coherent and intelligent.

"Then why did you act like this?"

"Because you told Yasuhara first. That is not something I would attribute to trusting."

Mai sighed. "Yes. I did. Okay, I did, I admit it. I just got a little freaked. It was a split second decision. I knew Yasuhara wouldn't go berserk and send ancient curses after the kid."

"I don't know how to cast ancient curses," Naru rebuffed.

"Yes, but Lin does, and you could very well ask him to teach you. You're a fast learner, so I wouldn't put anything past you." She lifted an eyebrow at him, causing him to laugh again.

"You've got to know that I wouldn't dare give up something I fought so hard for to begin with," Mai whispered so quietly that he couldn't be sure at first that she'd actually said it. He looked at her and found himself staring directly into her eyes, her mouth parted as she dwelled on her words.

"In the future, I promise that if someone asks me out again, I will tell you before I tell anyone else."

Naru nodded, accepting her proposition.

"And…?" Mai guided.

"And what?" Naru drew a blank. He'd gotten exactly what he wanted, and Mai hadn't ripped off his arm in the process.

"About the women throwing themselves at your feet?" Mai supplied. "I know you've got an ego to feed, but we need a compromise."

"Fine. I will make it known that it is not appropriate for women to, as you say, throw themselves at my feet, although I've never been witness to something quite like that."

Mai smiled.

"Thank you."

They were still holding hands.

"What did you even run out here for in the first place?" Naru asked, squaring his shoulders toward her. "I was more preoccupied with the smoking engine."

"More like you just didn't want to see me run the other way, you being all angry at me," Mai quipped, "because we also both know that you know absolutely nothing about cars."

"Is my overwhelming intelligence rubbing off on you?" he shot back at her, making the ends of her lips turn up.

"I don't know if you heard Masako, but we both saw these flashing lights. It was obviously more appealing to go find out what they were, rather than standing there, yelling at everyone else for being cruel or lying or hiding secrets…" Mai trailed off, sadness washing over her face. "So I went and didn't look back."

"Did you find anything?"

"Does it look like I found anything?" Mai answered with a question. "I haven't seen anything since I went in."

"Did it seem like it was a ghostly presence?" Naru continued.

"Oh, you're already in your idiot scientist mode, cracking down with all of these questions," Mai muttered under her breath. Naru's mind flickered to Gene. The nickname parroted in his ears. "Seeing as it's us, yes, I would assume it's some sort of ghost. Especially if only me and Masako saw it. We've seen loads of things before together when the rest of you didn't."

"I suppose you're right," Naru mused. "So then what could it have been?"

"I'd really rather not go and look right now. The sun's coming out, but it just seems to be getting colder." On cue, Mai shivered. On instinct, Naru tugged her into him. She blinked, caught off guard, but nuzzled closer once she realized what had happened.

"That could most definitely give us answers."

"So there's a ghost stalking some random forest and we just happen to fall right into its hands?" Mai wondered. "Doesn't that seem a little too coincidental?"

"Coincidence doesn't exist in my book."

Mai clicked her tongue once.

"Naru, can't we just ignore ghosts and ghost hunting and other occult and ethereal things that could very well want to kill us and just focus on… the _peace_ of the moment?"

Naru was about to shoot her down, to blatantly ignore everything she just asked of him. After all, a ghost could have very well been on the loose, and it was his self-proclaimed job to stop them from causing any harm.

But then he made the mistake of looking at her. Mai played the oldest hand in the book – the puppy dogs eyes that were simply too irresistible. Naru sighed, slumping back.

"Fine. I'll stay. The light… whatever it is… can… _wait_," he managed to get out without utterly going back on his word. It killed him to say those words, but Mai grinned, delighted, and rested her head back on his chest. His resistance ebbed away.

"Thank you," she repeated, claiming a second victory in less than fifteen minutes. "Do you ever get the feeling that maybe, someday, we'll just need a vacation from all of this?"

"That's what England was for."

Mai went silent. Naru's expression remained stone-cold and Mai turned away.

"I don't plan on going back any time soon," he murmured. "I couldn't stay away."

This, at least, lightened her mood for a few sweet seconds.

But they couldn't stay out of trouble for long.

A crushing fear gripped her heart, sending the pulse to her fists. She clenched down on Naru's coat and right hand, emitting an unwanted yelp. There directly in front of them was Urado, on bloody, bony fingers, famished hands and knees. Mai couldn't move. The demon dragged his body toward them, white eyes bugging out of the decrepit skull. Blood dripped into the leaves, sliding off his mummified body.

Mai clung to Naru and buried her face in his coat.

"What? What is it? Mai, _what is it?_" He shook her, snapping her out of her state. Urado was gone. Mai blinked, trying to rid the mere idea of the demon – the demon they burned, along with his house and victims – from her memory. But she'd had that nightmare more than once – Naru had witnessed the aftermath of those nightmares more than once. She could have sworn he recognized the signs.

He waited for her to tell him.

"I… I just… I saw…" Mai mumbled. "But… no. It couldn't have been. You would have seen it, too."

"Seen _what_, Mai?" Naru insisted, hating the fear in her voice. He was here, so he needed to make sure she was safe.

"I just had this weird feeling come over me. Like… all of my fears, all at once, slammed me hard in the chest."

"Do you feel all right now?" he replied immediately, searching her for any sign of harm.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. It was here and gone."

"Are you sure you didn't see anything? Anything at all?"

Mai paused. She could tell him. Those blue eyes… God, she wanted to tell him.

Urado's locked stare burned into her mind's eye and sent chills down her spine. Those nightmares had never stopped.

"I did see…"

Mai let her voice fade out and gazed around them.

He saw it this time, saw why Mai had run off into the forest out of sheer curiosity. The green flash swarmed the trees in a matter of seconds, blinding them, chilling the air. Mai gripped his hand again, gaping. It was gone before he had the chance to really examine it.

Naru jumped up, sending a frightened and confused Mai toppling over on her side. He spun in a circle, his jacket billowing out behind him, trying to find the source.

"That was it. Did you see it that time?"

"Of course I saw it that time," Mai snapped back, sitting upright after he had let her fall over. She dusted the twigs, leaves, and dirt from her sleeve and stood with him. They stood back to back to view the forest, searching for any other signs.

"Where did it come from?"

"…all over," Mai finally said, glancing around them. "It wasn't just some blinking green flashlight… it was like it was all around us. It lit up the forest, just like I first saw."

Naru remembered that the rest of their crew all wandered around this forest as well. He spun to Mai and gripped her shoulders to twirl her toward him.

"Do you think everyone else saw it this time, too?" he demanded, looking right into her eyes. She nodded, her expression solemn. She still wasn't convinced that the green light wasn't connected to the solid dose of fear, and her gut feeling was never wrong.

"You'd have to be blind to miss something like that."

"So then everyone else will be looking too. They'll want to know what it is, too."

"We should split up," Mai offered. "Maybe we'll find it faster that way, whatever it is."

"No. You will stay with me," Naru said. He collected Mai's left hand in his right again, just as Mai's jaw dropped. "You are going to stay with me so you don't manage to put yourself in some ridiculous danger like all of the times before. I just don't see how you haven't learned by now."

By now, Naru was muttering to himself, too self-absorbed in the notion that there was a new ghost to discover to realize that his brunette girlfriend was three seconds away from detonation.

She could have understood if Naru had said he just wanted her to be with him because, oh, they were a couple. Or if he just needed her by his side. Those excuses were simple enough, and Mai would have taken them in stride, even if they weren't the complete reason.

But the _degradation—_

"Ugh! I don't get it!" Mai tossed his hand from hers, sending it slamming back to his side. "This is what I just _can't stand_ about you! You're calm and comforting one second, and then when you realize that no one's yelling at you, you think you can go and be all condescending again! Well, I'm sick of it! I have better things to do! Goodbye!"

The whole world crowded in on Naru as she went stomping off on her own among the shadowed forest and tall trees. It _was_ getting colder out there, even though the day stretched on. He took two strides after her.

"You're going to get lost out there! You're going to get hurt!" He didn't want her in danger. He didn't need her in danger. He had already put up so much of a fight for this, just like her.

From what he could still see of her, she threw up a hand and brushed him off. If that was the last thing he was ever going to say to her, after watching her retreating back walk away into some dark forest where bright lights flashed once to lure two young women into its clutches, he hated himself for it.

"Mai! _Mai_!"

But she was gone.

* * *

><p><em>No one stays untainted by the world<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks to Amthyst, nicomwaah, polaracebear, Chrysanthia-Sunshine, and Guest for reviewing last chapter! Please review and tell me what you thought! There's plenty more to come :)**


End file.
